Please raise your voice to stop the passage of SB 1107, a terrible bill that would jeopardize historic properties in the distressed communities that need them most. The Connecticut Trust has been working hard, with our lobbyist Halloran & Sage, to try to stop the Connecticut Legislature from passing this legislation. (See our leadership testifying below!) Unfortunately, last Friday, SB 1107 passed out of the General Administration & Elections Committee – despite a flood of testimony, including from the National Trust for Historic Preservation – opposing the bill.
This legislation was initiated by the representatives of Willimantic, including Senator Mae Flexer and Representative Susan Johnson. The bill would exempt buildings from action under the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act, which allows lawsuits to prevent the unreasonable demolition of buildings listed on the National Register.
Contact your legislator today to tell them to oppose this bill.
Here are some talking points – that this legislation will reverse decades of preservation work and will sanction the demolition of historic structures people have said are meaningful. It will also set up a system of “demolition by neglect” where historic buildings were allowed to decay to the point of destruction, increasing blight in neighborhoods and decreasing property values and local tax revenues. More importantly, it sets a dangerous precedent and exposes the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act to future disastrous amendments.
For more ideas, please check out testimony previously submitted.
